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RICHMOND Valley Council Mayor Ernie Bennett has spoken out about a State Government plan to upgrade the Silver Sands Holiday Park at Evans Head.

Cr Bennett, who holidays in the park every year, said the proposed redevelopment will make the park unaffordable for many local residents.

"They can put all the fancy cabins in that they like and I'm sure they will fill them, but in a low socio-economic area, it (the park) should be available if the local community wants to use it."

Cr Bennett said since the State Government took control of the park away from council three years ago, the cost to stay there has more than doubled.

"I don't think they should have taken control. It was affordable holiday accommodation for our residents," he said.

A draft Plan of Management (POM) is currently on public exhibition and the Silver Sands is likely to lose 10-20% of its sites in order to accommodate larger vans and caravans, make room for new cooking and playground facilities and to create a new community access area.

Alan Revell is the chairman of the NSW Crown Holiday Parks Trust, the body set up by the State Government to manage Crown Land Holiday Parks, said the Silver Sands is likely to get $10 million spent on it over the next few years.

He said expectations for what is provided at caravan parks has changed considerably in recent years.

"We want to bring the park up to standard to meet the market," he said.

The Silver Sands currently has the greatest capacity of power sites in all NSW caravan parks, but it is likely to lose that status after the upgrade.